This invention relates to an expansion bearing assembly for a converter carrying trunnion, for instance, a slide bearing, an articulation bearing, or a ball and roller bearing having an inner race secured in place on the carrying trunnion and a part axially displaceable on rollers within the bearing housing.
In the fields of general engineering, or gear making it is customary to mount a shaft in a fixed bearing on one side and in an expansion bearing on the other side, so that it can accommodate thermal expansion, or assembly deficiencies and in order to guarantee smooth operation.
In a converter plant, too, the converter carrying ring is usually mounted with one carrying trunnion in a fixed bearing and the other carrying trunnion in an expansion bearing. There are different known embodiments for the expansion bearing construction. The construction according to U.S. Pat. No. 3,291,541, for instance, has the outer race inserted in a saddle-like part which, together with the bearing, forms a sledge which is movable on rollers on two paths on the lower side of the saddle. This construction has the disadvantage, however, that it is expensive and, due to the relatively large distance between the paths and the carrying trunnion axis, which is the point of impact for axial forces caused by thermal expansion, a tilting moment results which threatens the stability of the bearing.